The chance of a major earthquake hitting Ohio may be low, but it's not remote enough for one major insurer.

Allstate Insurance Co., battered over the past 15 months by seven of the 10 most-expensive catastrophes in the company's history, is taking steps to reduce its exposure to disasters by discontinuing writing residential and commercial earthquake coverage in most of the nation, including Ohio. The company also is planning to shed some of the 407,000 earthquake policies it has in force nationwide.

"What we're doing is a prudent action to reduce property exposure to catastrophic events," Karen Spica, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based company, told Business First.

Allstate's decision this month halted the writing of earthquake coverage, which costs a homeowner 20 cents to 40 cents per $1,000 of a residence's value. The company also is trying to find another insurer to pick up its roughly 300 commercial and 17,000 homeowners earthquake policies in the state, said Mike McGraw, Allstate's product manager for Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.

Ohio Insurance Department spokesman Robert Denhard said he was unaware of any other companies dropping earthquake coverage.

Although quake coverage is one of the smallest segments of the property and casualty market in Ohio, it accounted for $26.7 million in written commercial and residential premiums in 2005, compared with $65.1 million for private and small commercial aircraft insurance, $1.8 billion for general homeowners policies and $5.3 billion for auto insurance.'The big one'

Ohio may be thousands of miles from the hurricane-ravaged South, but its disaster risks figure into the overall exposure equation for insurers, said Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry research group.

"What's happening in Ohio with earthquake coverage is actually related to hurricane exposure," he said. "It all accumulates at the corporate level at the end of the day."

And Ohio has done its share of shaking, including five small quakes this year in northeast Ohio. There have been several damaging quakes in the state during the last century, the most recent in January 2001, when a 4.5-magnitude quake rocked Ashtabula County, according to the state Department of Natural Resources' Ohio Seismic Network.

More severe earthquakes are possible in Ohio, but such temblors typically have long intervals between recurrences, making them hard to predict, said Mike Hansen, the seismic network's coordinator.

"We don't know where we are in that cycle," he said. "The big one could be tomorrow or 200 years from now."Risky business

Allstate has been among the most aggressive insurers in reducing disaster exposure. The company recently said it was cutting back on homeowners policies in New York, on adjacent Long Island and in parts of Texas.

But it's not alone, Hartwig said. Columbus-based Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. in September stopped writing property insurance policies in Florida, and this month will begin dropping 35,000 homeowners policies that come up for renewal in the hurricane-prone states, spokesman Joe Case said.

George Haenszel, executive vice president at the Professional Insurance Agents Association of Ohio Inc., a trade group for insurance agents, said Allstate's quake policy-reduction decision came as a surprise. The purpose of insurance is to provide protection from catastrophes, he said, so earthquake coverage.

"Are they in the business of risk or aren't they?" he said.

Allstate's Spica said the issue is more about consequences, as insurers get slammed with larger disaster tolls.

"The current insurance model is not well-suited for handling losses from low-frequency, high-severity, mega-catastrophic events," she said.

One such event was Hurricane Katrina, which saddled Allstate with a company-record $3.6 billion in catastrophe losses. An earthquake costing Allstate billions of dollars more would take the company decades to pay off, based on the $60.2 million in annual earthquake premiums it collects nationally, Spica said.

"When they happen, it's a high severity and it's very difficult to bring in enough to cover the cost," she said.

But no residential insurer with a national presence can completely avoid dealing with earthquakes. In California, where in 2003 residential premiums alone totaled $661 million, companies offering homeowners insurance are required to provide access to an earthquake policy, said Nancy Kincaid, a spokeswoman for the California Earthquake Authority.

Allstate is among 18 insurers that sell and service earthquake coverage that is owned and funded by the authority, which through a combination of premiums, payments into the system by insurers and reinsurance is capable of handling claims from two simultaneous major earthquakes, Kincaid said. Other insurers in the state choose to offer their own policies, she said.

Allstate's main concern in the Midwest is the New Madrid seismic zone near the intersecting borders of Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri.

In 1811 and 1812, three powerful earthquakes occurred in that seismically unstable area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The magnitude 8 quakes resulted in land upheaval, causing church bells to ring as far away as Boston and inflicting significant damage to structures in Cincinnati, Geological Survey reports said.

The agency predicts a greater than 90 percent chance of a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake in the New Madrid area during the next 50 years. The Ohio Seismic Network's Hansen, who admits he does not have personal earthquake coverage, said the danger of such a severe quake in Ohio is low.

Since 2-3 yrs ago BiBLE REVELATIONS Web Site published, as one of the End Time Signs, the findings of certain geologists on the horn of Africa, which they maintained was splitting at the rate of 1 cm per year. At that rate it would take millions of years to create a new ocean base. I linked that up in the Web Page with the Prophecies of Zechariah and Ezekiel, which could actually be a prediction of such an event at the Time of the End, when Messiah Returns.

In Dec. this Page was updated with new reports coming in - according to which the pace has been drastically increasing. It stated: " A continental rifting process that normally takes millions of years to form has developed over a span of seven weeks in the Afar region of Ethiopia. "

Today I located a new report - and while the scientists still predict 10 million years for it to happen, the earth has been virtually opening under their feet while they were investigating! Some amazing photos accompany the article. On one of these photos, a satellite photo by NASA, one can actually see the massive cracks in the earth from the dizzy heights of the satellite! Behold also, on another, where a few people stand dwarfed on the rim of such a developing crater.

I copy this report below - after which you should read the Web Site commentary again, for the Biblical link-up. The Web Page will only be updated later.

NOTE: How the rift links up with the Red Sea, which links up with Eilat, Israel, from where a flat, low earth bed runs right up to the Dead Sea which lies far below sea level - some 30 Km away from Jerusalem. The Prophecies regarding the Coming of God Almighty to fight on the side of Judah/Israel in the War of Gog, Magog (Armageddon) predict great earth quakes - which could certainly finish off the earth split, to form the new ocean which will push up, past Eilat, to Jericho and perhaps the Sea of Galilee, into which the great waters that will break out from Jerusalem, will flow. You really do not have to be a geologist or scientist to visualize this, especially if you have visited these areas and if you look at the above satellite photos.

The stage is set in Jerusalem for Armageddon to break out - the nations are all aligned against Israel with the Arabs, who, via Iran, will shortly have nuclear weapons in the arena. Earthquakes and Tsunami phenomena are not strange these days. This rift, running straight down across Africa, has been described by an Israeli geologist as "the mother of all earthquakes." We have had 2 recent earthquakes (one yesterday) in Mozambique, (probably the Southern most point of the rift) which is bordering South Africa to theEast and on the sea. The Biblical New Year starts shortly - Pesach - followed 6 months later by Yom Kippur and Succot - typifying the Return of Messiah, Judgment Day and the Great Marriage!

So, it could happen any time between this year and 10 million years given by the geologists. Take your pick! But be prepared, because your doomsday could arrive to-morrow - or to-night! That is how real these matters effecting our souls are. We don't have to wait for Africa to split.

Normally new rivers, seas and mountains are born in slow motion. The Afar Triangle near the Horn of Africa is another story. A new ocean is forming there with staggering speed -- at least by geological standards. Africa will eventually lose its horn.

Geologist Dereje Ayalew and his colleagues from Addis Ababa University were amazed -- and frightened. They had only just stepped out of their helicopter onto the desert plains of central Ethiopia when the ground began to shake under their feet. The pilot shouted for the scientists to get back to the helicopter. And then it happened: the Earth split open. Crevices began racing toward the researchers like a zipper opening up. After a few seconds, the ground stopped moving, and after they had recovered from their shock, Ayalew and his colleagues realized they had just witnessed history. For the first time ever, human beings were able to witness the first stages in the birth of an ocean.

Normally changes to our geological environment take place almost imperceptibly. A life time is too short to see rivers changing course, mountains rising skywards or valleys opening up. In north-eastern Africa's Afar Triangle, though, recent months have seen hundreds of crevices splitting the desert floor and the ground has slumped by as much as 100 meters (328 feet). At the same time, scientists have observed magma rising from deep below as it begins to form what will eventually become a basalt ocean floor. Geologically speaking, it won't be long until the Red Sea floods the region. The ocean that will then be born will split Africa apart.

The Afar Triangle, which cuts across Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, is the largest construction site on the planet. Three tectonic plates meet there with the African and Arabian plates drifting apart along two separate fault lines by one centimeter a year. A team of scientists working with Christophe Vigny of the Paris Laboratory of Geology reported on the phenomenon in a 2006 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research. While the two plates move apart, the ground sinks to make room for the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Bubbling magma and the smell of sulphur

A third crevice cuts south, splitting not far from Lake Victoria. One branch of the rift runs to the east, the other to the west of the lake. The two branches of this third crevice are moving apart by about one millimeter a year.

SPIEGEL ONLINE

Karte Afrika Afar-Senke english version

The dramatic event that Ayalew and his colleagues witnessed in the Afar Desert on Sept. 26, 2005 was the first visual proof of this process -- and it was followed by a week-long series of earthquakes. During the months that followed, hundreds of further crevices opened up in the ground, spreading across an area of 345 square miles. "The earth has not stopped moving since," geophysicist Tim Wright of the University of Oxford says. The ground is still splitting open and sinking, he says; small earthquakes are constantly shaking the region.

Scientists have made repeated trips to the area since the drama of last September. Locals have reported a number of new cracks opening in the ground, says geologist Cynthia Ebinger from the University of London, and during each visit, new crevices are discovered. Fumes as hot as 400 degrees Celsius (752 degrees Fahrenheit) shoot up from some of them; the sound of bubbling magma and the smell of sulphur rise from others. The larger crevices are dozens of meters deep and several hundred meters long. Traces of recent volcanic eruptions are also visible.

In a number of places, cracks have opened up beneath the thin layer of volcanic ash that covers the region. As there is no ash in the fissures, it's clear that they opened up after the volcanic eruptions, most of which took place at the end of September or in October, 2005. A number of locals who fled the eruptions have reported that a black cloud of ash -- spewed out of the Dabbahu volcano -- darkened the sky for three days.

A new ocean floor on the Earth's surface

Basalt magma has risen into some of the crevices. For the moment, Ayalew explains, the lava seems not to be rising further. A number of recent eruptions, though, have left layers of new basalt lava on the Earth's surface. And it's the exact same kind of lava that spews out of volcanic ridges deep under the ocean -- a process which slowly pushes older lava sediments away on either side. The process has only just begun in the Afar Triangle -- and scientists for the first time can witness the birth of a new ocean floor.

The source of the African magma looks to be a gigantic stream of molten rock rising from beneath the Earth's crust and slicing through the African continental plate like a blow torch. It's a process that began thirty million years ago when lava broke through the continent for the first time, separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa and creating the Red Sea.

Now, it's the Afar Triangle's turn and it's sinking rapidly. Large areas are already more than 100 meters (328 feet) below sea level. For now, the highlands surrounding the Denakil Depression prevent the Red Sea from flooding these areas, but erosion and tectonic plate movement are continually reducing the height of this natural barrier. The Denakil Depression, which lies to the east of Afar, is already prey to regular floods -- each flood leaving behind a crust of salt.

Africa to lose its horn

The chain of volcanoes that runs along the roughly 6,000 kilometer (3,730 mile) long East African Rift System offers further testimony to the breaking apart of the continent. In some areas around the outer edges of the Rift System, the Earth's crust has already cracked open, making room for the magma below. From the Red Sea to Mozambique in the south, dozens of volcanoes have formed, the best known being Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Nyiragongo.

These fiery mountains too will one day sink into the sea. Geophysicists have calculated that in 10 million years the East African Rift System will be as large as the Red Sea. When that happens, Africa will lose its horn.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

I don't know who put this together, but I sure would like to shake his hand, pat him on the back, and wish him, "Good Hunting!"

I Am Coming!

Dear Terrorists,

I am a Navy Aviator. I was born and raised in a small town in New England . I come from a family of five. I was raised in a middle class home and taught my values by my mother and father.

My dad worked a series of jobs in finance and my mom took care of us kids. We were not an overly religious family but attended church most Sundays. It was a nice small Episcopal Church. I have a brother and sister and I am the youngest in my family. I was the first in many generations to attend college

I have flown Naval aircraft for 16 years. For me the flying was never a lifelong dream or a "calling," it just happened. I needed a job and I liked the challenge. I continue to do it today because I feel it is important to give back to a nation which has given so much to me. I do it because, although I will never be rich, my family will be comfortable.

I do it because many of my friends have left for the airlines and someone has to do it.

My government has spent millions to train me to fly these multi-million dollar aircrafts I make about 70,000 dollars a year and after 20 years will be offered a pension.

I like baseball but think the players make too much money. I am in awe of firemen and policemen and what they do each day for my community, and! like teachers, they just don't get paid enough.

I respect my elders and always use sir or ma'am when addressing a stranger. I'm not sure about kids these days but I think that's normal for every generation.

I tell you all this because when I come for you, I want you to know me. I won't be hiding behind a woman or a child. I won't be disguised or pretending to be something I am not. I will be in a U.S. issue flight suit. I will be wearing standard US issue flight gear, and I will be flying a navy aircraft clearly marked as a US warplane. I wish we couldmeet up close in a small room where I could wrap my hands around your throat and slowly squeeze the life out of you, but unfortunately, you're hiding in a hole in the ground, so we will have to do this a different way.

I want you to know also that I am very good at what I do. I can put a 2,000 lb weapon through a window from 10,000 feet up. I generally only fly at night, so you may want to start sleeping during the day. I am not eager to die for my country but I am willing to sacrifice my life to protect it from the likes ofyou.

I will do everything in my power to ensure no civilians are hurt as I take aim at you.

My countrymen are a forgiving bunch. Many are already forgetting what you did on Sept 11th. But I will not forget!!

I am coming! I hope you know me a little bit better, see you soon...sleep tight.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

AMONG THE ASHES: Researchers dig for clues to a civilization that lived near Mt. Tambora before it erupted in 1815, burying settlements under 10 feet of ash. The eruption on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa is ranked as the biggest in recorded history - at least four times bigger than Mt. Krakatoa in 1883, and 200 times as powerful as Mt. St. Helens in 1980. COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. ? The eruption started modestly. On April 5, 1815, after two years of puffs and burps, Mt. Tambora launched a thick column of ash, pumice, and gas into the sky. For people living near the foot of the massive Indonesian volcano, the view was spectacular, but the fallout was merely a nuisance - good for the soil.

Five days later, however, in the early evening, Tambora exploded in the largest volcanic eruption in history. For the first three hours, ash and dust hurtled into the sky in a roiling cloud some 26 miles tall. Then, much of the cloud collapsed back onto the mountain, sending a thick, searing avalanche of ash, dust, and rock tumbling down the slopes at Autobahn speeds, burying everything in its path.

Now, a team of US and Indonesian volcanologists say they have unearthed evidence of a town buried under the eruption's debris. They suggest that it may be the political center of the small kingdom of Tambora, which had a population of roughly 10,000 at the time of the eruption.

So far, the team has unearthed the charred beams of a house and the remains of two occupants, some bronze and iron tools, and uniquely decorated ceramic and porcelain vessels. They've also found glass artifacts fused and distorted by the heat of the debris that swept through the area. The ceramics hint that Tamborans had some sort of direct or indirect ties with Cambodia and Vietnam, according to Haraldur Sigurdsson, a University of Rhode Island volcanologist who led the effort.

The ties may have been cultural as well. According to records gathered by British officials at the time, Tamborans spoke a language that appeared unrelated to any other Indonesian dialect. It seemed more closely related to the Mon-Khmer family of languages spoken throughout Southeast Asia. Tambora, Dr. Sigurdsson says, "could be the Pompeii of the East."

Based on the evidence so far, some researchers are skeptical that Tambora was a kingdom in the classic sense of the word. But that doesn't diminish the site's value, they add.

"No research has been done by professional archaeologists on the effects of the Tambora eruption as far as I am aware," notes National University of Singapore archaeologist John Miksic in an e-mail. "So this is a useful contribution."

Tambora's effects were far-reaching. The 1815 eruption released 100 cubic kilometers of magma and left a caldera nearly five miles wide and 1,250 feet deep. (By comparison, Mt. St. Helens ejected about half a cubic kilometer of magma during its 1980 eruption.) The original summit of the 37-mile-wide mountain reached nearly 14,000 feet; after the eruption, the mountain stood just over 9,000 feet tall.

'I had to come back here ... [this civilization] could be the Pompeii of the East.' - Haraldur Sigurdsson, (r.) University of Rhode Island volcanologist, on returning to Mt. Tambora in 2004COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

>>idahoeagleforum@msn.com wrote: From: <idahoeagleforum@msn.com>>Subject: 66 Year old Juror Persecuted by State Attorney-General Wasden - Support for Carol is needed>Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 07:58:24 -0800>> This needs to be checked out for truth. Idaho Eagle Forum> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carol Asher has worked as Officer Jack McLamb'svolunteer secretary for the past few years now. Jackhas been broadcasting the details and he sent essentiallythe same information out to us today.

Unfortunately, I can only listen to Patriot radio on myPC (shortwave has been jammed since day 1 of thecurrent Iraq invasion) so my letters canNOT getpublished - the papers can't call me to verify myidentity as my line is busy all day.

This pledge is what the people of Idaho hired you for, and what people who cherish freedom everywhere yearn for.

Yet, you are proceeding in the case of Carol Asher, 66, a retired nun, of Kamiah, in which Carol simply did her part to bring about "fair criminal prosecution" by excercising her mandate (not option, but mandate) as a juror in the case of a First Nations young man for which evidence was not sufficient to warrant conviction.

Her next court appearance on "perjury" charges, with up to a possible 14 years' imprisonment, is slated for March 7.

Apparently, Carol didn't follow the judge's instructions which, if followed literally, would have required jurors to convict the manwith insufficient evidence. I grew up in the U.S., and am a U.S.military veteran. To the best of my knowledge, the role of a jury isto determine if evidence is sufficient to convict the defendant. Attempting to influence a jury is a serious violation of law. Am Iright?

The judge's role, I believe, is to be sure procedures are followed, and if the defendant is found guilty, to pass sentence. Am I right there too?

I would guess that is the expectation of all U.S. citizens. When and how did judges acquire the authority to tamper with a jury's verdict?

And in the future, do judges in Idaho now have the authority to dictate jury verdicts? If yes, this is a stunning revelation for those who live in Idaho. It is also of grave concern for those who live elsewhere, as this total collapse of the jury system could spread.

To formulate orders to a jury which interfere with their ability to independently decide on the guilt of the defendant is as replusive as squads of storm troopers marching into cities. I and many others who are watching this case closely urgently request you drop this matter entirely, and keep your oath.

/s/ Eleanor White==========================================

And here is my short letter to the editor of the papers:

=========================================Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, and deputiesStephen Bywater and Justin Whatcott, are prosecuting66-year-old retired nun from Kamiah, Carol Asher, forspeaking out in the jury room against the judge's instructions. Her next court appearance is March 7.

Carol's conscience told her that there was insufficientevidence to convict the defendant. Apparently the judgemade the jury pledge to follow his instructions, which inthis case had the effect of forcing a conviction.

This is jury tampering in any free country.

If you don't print my letter, I hope you will investigateand report on this travesty.

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